


Almost Home

by brookebond



Series: Almost Home [1]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Mentions of Death, but no major characters, parent!arthur, teacher!Eames
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-10-16 17:56:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10576488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brookebond/pseuds/brookebond
Summary: Arthur becomes the guardian of his nephew after a tragic accident. Eames is his new kindergarten teacher.





	1. September

**Author's Note:**

> youcantsaymylastname shared a lovely picture of Tom Hardy in a kindergarten class and so this came to be.  
> It was meant to be a short little fluffy piece but has turned into this... Enjoy!
> 
> The title is from Carousel by Iron & Wine.
> 
> Thank you to everyone in Slack that has cheered me on for this and put up with my whining.  
> Special thanks to swtalmnd and deinvati for reading over this when it was an absolute utter mess.  
> The lovely and wonderful oceaxe betaed this for me. Any errors left are my fault!

Arthur tossed his keys onto the side table by the door and threw himself over the back of his sofa, sinking into the soft plushness as he loosened his tie. It had been a long day at work and he was looking forward to ordering in some Chinese and doing absolutely nothing.

He got as far as dialing the number on his cell when someone knocked on his door.

Arthur groaned and pushed himself off the couch, moving to the door. On the other side stood a uniformed officer and a dark-haired woman in a flowy dress.

“Mr. Pointer?”

“Yes,” Arthur answered, ending the call just as someone picked up.

“I’m Officer Westbrook and this is Ms. Dale,” the officer said, indicating to each of them.

“May we come in?” Ms. Dale asked with a smile.

Arthur nodded, slipping his phone into his trousers’ pocket as they walked in.

“Would you like something to drink?” he offered, moving past his unexpected guests into the kitchen. Arthur knew he was getting bad news. Officers never came to your home to give you good news, but Arthur couldn’t stop his manners from coming out.

“No, thank you,” Ms. Dale answered with another polite smile.

“Mr. Pointer, maybe you’d like to sit down. We have some very bad news.”

“No,” Arthur shook his head. “No. I’ll just stay here.” He waved a hand vaguely around the kitchen. It was safe territory. If he sat down, he wasn’t sure he would ever get back up.

The officers looked at each other, sharing concerned looks that Arthur was positive were about him.

“Mr. Pointer, your sister was in a car crash. She died at the scene.”

“My sister?” Arthur asked, his voice surprisingly calm considering the way his heart was threatening to break through his chest.

“A Mrs. Elizabeth Lister. We found her I.D. in her purse. You are listed as her emergency contact,” the officer said, reading off a clipboard Arthur hadn't noticed.

Arthur curled his fingers, pressing his nails into his palms. “Was anyone else in the car?”

“Her husband, a Mr. William Lister, also died in the crash.”

“They have a son. Teddy. Was he in the car?” he asked, his heart already in his stomach, but he had to ask. He had to know if he had lost them all.

“No. He was with a babysitter at the time of the accident. There is an officer collecting him as we speak.”

“When can I see him?”

“The officer will bring him here tomorrow.”

Arthur sighed in relief. At least he wasn’t going to have to go anywhere to collect Teddy.

“Do you have any other questions?”

If he were honest, Arthur had a million questions—what happened? Had they died instantly? Had anyone been drinking? But Arthur couldn’t voice any of them so he shook his head.

“Is there anyone you would like us to call?” Officer Westbrook asked, offering a small smile.

Arthur shook his head again.

 

He waited until they were out of his apartment before pouring himself a gin, his hands shaking the whole time. Arthur downed the drink and poured himself another, larger amount of gin. He stared at the glass, his eyes glazing over as he replayed the conversation over in his head.

Lizzie was dead. His twin. Shouldn’t he have known already? Wasn’t that what the movies always went on about? Twins having some special connection that meant you knew when the other was in trouble? Instead, Arthur felt hollow. A numbness had seeped through his body, leaving him cold as he realised he would never see Lizzie again. There wouldn’t be any weekend trips to Olympia or late night phone calls complaining about men.

Arthur poured himself another drink and dialed Dom’s number. He promised himself it was going to be a quick call. Just the basic information; he wasn’t going to be at work. That’s all Dom needed to know.

“Cobb speaking.”

“Why do you always answer like that? You have caller ID.”

“What can I do for you, Arthur?” Dom chuckled.

Arthur took a deep breath; suddenly this call didn’t seem like such a good idea.

“Arthur?”

“I won’t be in for the rest of the week,” Arthur said in a rush.

“What? Arthur, why not-?”

“I’ll still work from home when I can, but I won’t be in the office. Sorry, something’s come up. Thanks, Dom.”

Arthur hung up before Dom could start asking questions. There wasn’t any way he’d be able to withstand any sort of questioning.

The moment the call disconnected, Arthur let out his breath and rested his forehead against the wall. He took several deep breaths but they didn’t help.

Arthur turned around and pressed his back against the wall, his eyes stinging. Now that he had nothing occupying him, his thoughts turned to Lizzie, realising he’d never hear her voice again. Or see her smile when he teased her. There was no more Lizzie.

He slid to the floor, pulling his knees to his chest in a desperate attempt to hold himself together. Sobs shook his body, tears finally spilling over his cheeks. What the fuck was he supposed to do?

Arthur lost track of time on the floor, but when the tears finally stopped, he picked himself up and shuffled to the bathroom. He turned the shower on hot and undressed, letting his suit crumple to the ground as he climbed under the scalding spray.

Usually the shower was his favourite spot to think, but his mind was empty. His body numb. There was going to be plenty of time for thinking later. For now, he just had to get through one thing at a time.

He scrubbed himself methodically and wet his hair, letting the saturated strands slide into his face.

Arthur turned the shower off as soon as the soap was rinsed off. He moved on auto-pilot, wrapping a towel around his waist and heading to his bedroom to change before climbing into bed.

 

* * *

 

Arthur had just dressed in jeans and a t-shirt when there was a knock on his door. His heart beat a little faster, nervous energy pulling him towards the door.

Teddy threw himself at Arthur the moment the door was open, arms tightening around Arthur’s legs.

“Hey kiddo,” Arthur said as he ran his fingers through Teddy’s short dark hair. There was no mistaking him for anyone but a Pointer — he had the same dark hair, brown eyes, and dimples that Arthur had, even though they were hidden by a frown.

Seeing him again was like a physical blow, though. Teddy looked so much like Lizzie that Arthur had to blink back tears and forced a smile at the officer who offered one politely in return and handed over a duffle bag.

 

After making sure they didn’t need anything else, the officer left, leaving Arthur and Teddy alone.

Before Arthur could ask Teddy if he wanted to do something, there was another knock on the door and Arthur was about ready to put his fist through a wall.

He opened the door with more force than was necessary, but his frustration petered out at the sight of Ariadne.

“You okay?” She asked, her observational skills totally on point. “I saw that officer leaving and wanted to check that you were-” Her sentence trailed off as Teddy pushed past Arthur’s legs to see their new guest.

Ariadne looked down at the boy then back at Arthur, her lips pursed in a question.

Arthur shook his head, his mouth thinning as he fought back a fresh wave of tears. It wasn’t for Ari’s benefit. He just didn’t want Teddy to see him broken.

“Hey there, I’m Ari. What’s your name?” She slipped past Arthur, leading Teddy back into Arthur’s apartment as she babbled.

Arthur wanted to thank her but he couldn’t form the words, he was too focused on holding himself together.

While Ari distracted Teddy, Arthur went into his office, closing the door behind him. He knew he could get away with hiding for a little while. But he used the time to call Lizzie’s lawyer, determined to start getting things rolling.

 

The call to the lawyer lasted ten minutes, but it was a ten minutes that left Arthur feeling a bit more on top of things. There was a will and Arthur had a time for a meeting the following day.

With the lawyer out of the way, Arthur made a list of things he needed to do—reach out to Will’s parents to organise a joint funeral, get Teddy’s things, clear out their house, kid proof the apartment, set up a bedroom, and find a school.

They were all things that would have to wait until later. With nothing else keeping him in the office, Arthur headed back out to the living area. Ari and Teddy were at the breakfast bar, eating sandwiches.

Arthur gave her a grateful smile that was missing his usual dimples. She offered him a sandwich in return and Arthur took it, his stomach growling at the sight of food. It wasn’t until that moment that Arthur realised he hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before. He was surprised his body hadn’t started protesting earlier.

They all ate in silence, Ariadne shooting Arthur little glances like she could see the cracks.

He knew he couldn’t keep it all hidden from her, but he wasn’t quite ready to talk about it all. Hell, the more he thought about it, the more he figured he might never be ready. But since he was going to have to ask Ari for a massive amount of help, the least she deserved was to know why. That talk was going to have to wait until Teddy was asleep, though.

After they finished their sandwiches and Arthur managed to convince Ariadne that she didn’t need to clean up, it was just Arthur and Teddy.

“How ‘bout a bath?”

Teddy smiled up at Arthur and nodded.

 

It was relatively simple. Teddy didn’t need too much of Arthur’s help in the tub, but Arthur stayed in the bathroom anyway. He had no idea what he would do with himself if he wasn’t there watching Teddy. Just being in the same room seemed to soothe something inside of Arthur.

 

Without a bed for Teddy, Arthur relinquished his own. He would have to sort out a bedroom, sooner rather than later, but the couch would be alright for a few days.

Arthur tucked Teddy up in his bed and, at the boy’s request, stayed with him until he was asleep. He didn’t have any books to read, but Arthur told what he could remember of Jack and the Beanstalk. It was patchy at best, but it didn’t seem to matter.

When he was finally out, Arthur snuck out of the room, leaving one of the lamps on in case Teddy needed to get up in the middle of the night, and texted Ari.

She let herself in, showing off the bottle of vodka she had brought with her, and they sat on the couch facing each other.

“We don’t have to talk,” she said, offering him the bottle first.

Arthur took a swig, savouring the way it burned on the way down. “My sister died. I’m Teddy’s legal guardian now.” He tried to keep his voice calm, separate from all sort of feeling, but it was useless. It was just Ari and she was looking at him with such sad eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

“Arthur,” she said quietly, grabbing the bottle before Arthur could attempt to down half of it in one go. “Whatever you need, I’m here.”

They sat, passing the bottle between them until Ari decided Arthur had had enough and tucked him in on the couch.

 

* * *

 

Arthur woke to Teddy poking him in the face.

“Arthur,” the boy called quietly even though he was so close Arthur couldn’t focus on him. “Are you awake?”

“Am now,” Arthur groaned as he rolled over. He wrapped his arms around Teddy and pulled him on top of Arthur which earned him a giggle and a lot of wriggling before Teddy settled.

“Why are you up so early?” Arthur asked, letting his fingers trail over his nephew’s back soothingly.

“I was hungry.”

Arthur hummed and closed his eyes.

He was falling asleep when Teddy started poking him in the face again.

“Stop it,” Arthur grumbled, tightening his grip on the boy.

“I want pancakes.”

Arthur sighed and rolled Teddy off him before moving through to the kitchen. He wasn’t much of a cook but Arthur could manage pancakes. Besides, Arthur wasn’t going to deny Teddy anything that would make him happy. It was the least he could do.

Teddy climbed onto a stool at the breakfast bar and watched as Arthur made pancakes, giggling when Arthur flipped them showily. Maybe Arthur flipped them higher each time just to hear Teddy laugh, but he wouldn’t admit that to anyone.

 

Once the pancakes were all cooked, Arthur took a seat next to Teddy and they dug in. Arthur had made chocolate chip pancakes; it was as much a treat for himself as it was for Teddy.

They ate in silence for a little while, the sound of cutlery clinking against plates the only noise.

“I’ve asked Ariadne to look after you today,” Arthur said after finishing the last of his pancakes.

“No,” Teddy said forcefully, dragging Arthur’s attention to him.

“Teddy,” he said softly. “I have things I need to today and I can’t take you with me. I’m sorry.”

“Why not?”

“It’s adult-only stuff.”

Teddy narrowed his eyes at Arthur, clearly not interested in Arthur’s reasoning.

“If I could take you with me, I would. But these are things only I can do. Besides, you liked Ariadne, didn’t you?” Arthur nudged Teddy’s shoulder, trying to lighten the mood. He felt bad enough that he had to leave his nephew behind, he didn’t need to see the physical proof that he was being a terrible uncle.

“She’s alright,” Teddy replied with a shrug.

“She liked you. Plus she’s got all these paints over there. Maybe she’ll let you make something.”

Teddy’s eyes lit up at that and Arthur knew he’d won this small battle. It would be one less thing to worry about as he worked his way through his list. If Arthur was lucky, he’d get it all sorted in one day. But Arthur had a feeling his luck had run out.

 

The plan for the day was fine right up until Arthur knocked on Ariadne’s door. She lived across the hall and that short walk was all it had taken for Teddy to change his mind.

“I don’t want to.”

“Please, Teddy. Do it for me?” Arthur crouched so he was closer to the same height as the boy but that just put him in range for Teddy to wrap his arms around Arthur’s neck. It wasn’t how things were supposed to be going.

“Don’t leave me.”

Arthur leaned back a little, prying Teddy from him. “I’m not leaving. I’ll be back.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” Arthur said, flashing a small dimpled smile which he got in return from Teddy. “Here,” he said as he pulled a small red die from his pocket. “You remember this?”

Teddy nodded, fingers reaching for it already.

“Only you and I know the weight and feel of this die. Think you can hold onto it for me?”

Teddy nodded again and wrapped his fingers around the die when Arthur passed it over.

“I’ll be back for it, ok?”

Teddy smiled, dimples out in full force when Ariadne opened the door.

Maybe he could do this after all.

 

The day was long and by the time Arthur made it back to Ari’s apartment with Chinese takeout, he was wiped, emotionally and physically.

“Got everything done?” Ari asked as she set out plates for the three of them.

Arthur nodded. “The funeral is on Sunday. A cleaning company will take care of the house. Movers are bringing over Teddy’s things, well, what can be brought over.” Arthur glanced over at his nephew, watching him swirl paint across a canvas with his fingers. “I have full custody. But that isn’t a surprise. I’m the only family he’s got left. All that’s left is to find a school.”

“You know you have to tell Dom, right?”

“Teddy, time to wash up for dinner,” Arthur called, making sure Teddy ran to the bathroom before turning back to Ariadne. “Yeah, I’m going to tonight after Teddy goes to bed.” Arthur sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “How am I supposed to do this?”

“Like you do everything else: with a plan.”

 

* * *

 ***

* * *

 

Eames was a fucking fantastic teacher. He loved working with kids, loved seeing their excited faces when they figured something out, loved the way everything was new for them. What he didn’t love was having nineteen kids clamouring for his attention at the same time.

Of course, it was right in the middle of that absolute chaos that the principal turned up with visitors.

“Mr. Eames.” Saito’s voice boomed over the children’s, bringing the room to a surprised quiet.

Eames’s head, along with all of the children’s, snapped to the door. It wasn’t a total surprise to see Saito, but seeing the two others with him was.

They looked like a matching pair — dark hair and severe disapproval as they took Eames’ classroom in. Eames’ eyes lingered a little longer than necessary as he took in the father, admiring the way the guy’s suit seemed to hug his body in all the right places. All Eames could think was that he was unfairly attractive.

“Alright kids, choice time,” Eames said as he stood, brushing his jeans before going to greet the visitors.

The kids ran off to different corners, some deciding on lego, others on dress-up.

“Hello there,” he greeted the smaller visitor. “I’m Eames, what’s your name?” Eames expected him to be quiet since he was half-behind his father, but he was pleasantly surprised.

“Teddy,” the small boy answered as he edged away from his father.

“Would you like to play with the others?”

Teddy looked up at his father, clearly seeking approval. Eames tucked the information away to look at later.

When he received a nod, the kid was off.

Eames turned to watch, making sure the kids made room for Teddy and was happy to see Ethan and Kael sharing the lego blocks with him.

“Do you actually do any teaching, Mr. Eames?”

Eames laughed, eyes crinkling as he turned and was met with a disapproving glare. “Of course,” he answered, sobering a little when he noticed Saito’s frown. Eames was supposed to be selling the school as the best place for an education. Letting the kids play wasn’t the best way to do that.

“Okay, everyone. On the mat,” he called, slipping into teacher mode.

 

The observation only lasted an hour. It was usually long enough to give the parents an idea of what to expect from the school and it was just long enough for the teachers to not get annoyed at the extra presence.

Eames would have gladly kept Arthur and Teddy in his class all day. Sure, it was mostly just so Eames could continue to gaze at Arthur. He was so straight-laced Eames wanted to ruin him, wanted to see those lips slick and reddened. But he had also enjoyed Teddy. The kid slipped into the class so well, Eames had almost lost track of him.

When Arthur and Teddy were leaving, Eames handed Arthur a list of supplies Teddy would need. Their hands had touched briefly, sending a small thrill straight to Eames’ core. When had he become some sap that got weak in the knees over touching hands?

He knew he couldn’t let this little fascination deepen into anything more. It was a matter of professionalism that stopped him from dating the parents of his kids.

So after work, Eames went out with Yusuf for a few drinks. They had a standing date on a Friday night to catch up on the week and bitch about the dumb shit their colleagues had done. But tonight Eames couldn't stop bringing the conversation back to Arthur.

“Mate, just fuck him and get it out of your system.” Yusuf sipped his beer, staring Eames down as Eames glared at him.

“Don't be a twat, Yusuf.”

“If you fucked him, you'd stop waxing poetic about him,” Yusuf pointed out helpfully.

It was a fair point. Eames had a habit of fawning over guys, sleeping with them, and then losing interest. He could see why Yusuf suggested it.

Eames downed the remainder of his beer and excused himself to go to the bathroom.

When he came back, Yusuf had filled Eames’ spot at the table with a tiny brunette. Eames had to admit his friend’s taste was getting better, but he had to question the scarf.

Eames got Yusuf’s attention and signalled that he was off. Yusuf just grinned in return and Eames knew he wouldn't be missed.

 

After a few more drinks at home, Eames was trying to go to sleep but images of Arthur were distracting him. Sure, their meeting had only lasted an hour and Eames wasn’t going to actively pursue Arthur, but he still had one hell of an imagination.

Eames decided he would allow himself one night to think of Arthur as more than just a parent of one of his kids. He slipped a hand into his pants, stroking himself to hardness as he imagined Arthur on his knees, lips quirked up in a smirk as he licked Eames’ cock from base to tip.

 

Eames fell asleep with thoughts of Arthur floating through his mind.

 

* * *

 ***

* * *

 

“You can reach me on either number, anytime,” Arthur repeated. He had gone to leave but found he couldn’t without making sure Mr. Eames knew without a doubt that he could call at any time and Arthur would answer.

“Teddy is going to be perfectly fine. He won’t even know you’re not here.”

Arthur stiffened, dragging his gaze to his nephew. It really did seem like Teddy had already forgotten about Arthur. He was happily playing with a few other kids.

“Arthur, Teddy will be fine. Nothing will go wrong.”

Arthur frowned, ready to open his mouth to argue when Mr. Eames continued.

“If for any reason we need to call you, I’m sure we’ll find the number.”

Arthur sighed, resisting the urge to drag his fingers through his styled hair. “If you’re sure.”

“Positive,” Mr. Eames said with a smile.

Surprisingly, that smile settled something inside Arthur. It was probably because Arthur wanted to stare at that smile for hours. He was a sucker for a guy with pretty eyes and a killer smile.

With his worries allayed, Arthur managed to leave without pointing out his number a third time.

 

Two hours into work, Arthur had taken four coffee breaks and had made three phone calls. Usually he was a machine at work, powering through everything he needed to get done. But Arthur was preoccupied.

He found his thoughts constantly going to Teddy, wondering how he was doing, if he was making friends, if he missed Arthur at all. Arthur also had checked his phone every ten minutes since he’d arrived at work. There hadn’t been any calls or texts, not that he expected any, but it was making him antsy.

 

“Arthur, have you managed to get those revisions from Hamish?”

Arthur dropped his phone, pushing away from his desk and turning to see the intruder. “Mal,” he sighed. “I’ve tried calling Hamish and have gotten his voicemail twice. He might need a personal visit.”

Mal nodded, taking a seat on Arthur’s desk. “Should you be here?”

“I’m fine.” They had talked already, Mal pulling Arthur aside the moment he stepped into the office. He had thought he’d made it clear—being at home was not going to make him feel better. But it seemed as though Mal still had other ideas.

“You can take as much time as you need, Arthur.”

“I don’t need the time. I’m fine.” He wondered how many times he’d have to say those words before anyone believed him. Or before he believed it himself. “I won’t be okay if you make me take more days off.”

“You could always work from home,” Mal suggested, her tone just the wrong side of placating.

“Is that all?” Arthur bit out. He was trying hard to keep his annoyance to a minimum, he knew the concern was coming from a good place. But if he couldn’t even find peace at work, Arthur really was going to lose it.

“Of course, mon chou. Let me know when you get those revisions,” she said, switching back to business mode as she sashayed away from his desk.

Arthur wheeled his chair back to the desk and picked up his phone, dialling Hamish’s number. At least it would offer a few hours of distraction from his thoughts of Teddy.

 

Arthur left the office early to make sure he was on time to pick Teddy up. It was stupid, though, because it meant that Arthur was twenty minutes early and had to wait outside until Mr. Eames started letting the kids out.

Teddy rushed straight to Arthur, bouncing eagerly with details of his day.

“Eames read books and we coloured and watched videos and we goed to the library and —”

“Wow, you did a lot today.” Arthur had grabbed Teddy’s backpack and was checking his lunchbox and water bottle were still in there as Teddy launched into another long-winded sentence.

“I played with Ethan, he was Batman and I was Superman and it was fun. And now I’m Theo.”

Arthur stared at Teddy, his mouth open slightly. “Sorry buddy, I don’t think I heard you properly.”

“You have to call me Theo.” He said it so matter of factly that Arthur had to assume that he was having him on. But the stubborn set of Teddy’s jaw made Arthur think twice before he laughed.

“Everything alright over here?”

Arthur looked up and met Mr. Eames’ eyes over his nephew’s head. “Why does he want to be Theo?” Arthur asked, letting Teddy take his backpack away.

“Ah, I’m afraid that may be my fault.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for an explanation.

“Well, some kids were teasing him about his name. Teddy Bear, you know.” Arthur shook his head as Eames continued. “And he was upset, so we had a chat and I may have mentioned that Theo was another nickname for Theodore and his eyes lit up. It seems to have stuck.”

There was nothing Arthur wanted to do more than punch Mr. Eames in the jaw and knock that stupid self-deprecating smile off his face. But they were in the school and it wasn’t a good example to set for Teddy.

“Arthur.” Teddy tugged at his sleeve, dragging Arthur’s thoughts from violence to worry. “Can we go now?”

Arthur’s nod was a little delayed but he gave in, figuring he could talk the boy out of the new name once they were home.

“This isn’t finished,” Arthur said, giving Mr. Eames one last glare before taking Teddy home.

 

It wasn’t until Teddy was sitting at the breakfast bar reading a book while Arthur emptied the dishwasher that Arthur broached the subject of names.

“Can I still call you Teddy?”

“No. I’m Theo now,” Teddy said, his small voice seeming to bounce off the walls around Arthur.

“But why? You’ve always been Teddy.”

“Mommy called me Teddy,” he said in a quiet voice. “I want to be Theo.”

The heartbroken way Teddy said ‘mommy’ was more than enough for Arthur to give in. He would do anything to never hear that tone again. He knew that at some point they would have to have a proper conversation about his parents, but for the time being, Arthur could give him a new name.

“Well, Theo,” he said, noticing the smile it brought. “What would you like for dinner?”

“Pasta,” he said, returning to his book.

“Ok.” Arthur nodded and set to making dinner.


	2. October

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kicked my ass. Absolutely kicked it.  
> I've been sitting on it for a while, unsure of how to tackle the emotional dilemma that comes up.  
> But a massive thank you to swtalmnd, Somedrunkpirate, and pinkys_creature_feature for talking through parts of this chapter with me and listening to me complain, a lot. I got there in the end.
> 
> The lovely and wonderful oceaxe betaed this for me. Any errors left are my fault!

Eames liked the end of the school day. There was something special about getting to see the way kids lit up when they saw their parents, plus Eames liked watching the dynamic between child and parent—it was truly enlightening. But what Eames liked the most about the end of the day was that he finally had a bit of quiet.

He loved teaching kids, loved their never-ending supply of energy, but Eames needed time to decompress and he usually got that a few minutes after three. Well, when the parents actually picked their kids up.

“Theo, did your dad say he would be running late today?”

Theo shrugged, continuing to play with the blocks, stacking them high and knocking them back down.

Eames huffed out an amused breath. It was a stupid question. The kids hardly ever remembered who was supposed to be picking them up; he shouldn’t have expected Theo to be able to answer his question.

He was flipping through his files, looking for Arthur’s number, when a tiny brunette burst into the classroom.

“Can I help you?”

“This place is like a maze! You ready to go?” She talked directly to Theo, completely ignoring Eames.

Theo perked up, dropping the blocks he was holding and ran to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her hips.

“I’m sorry,” Eames said, stepping out from behind his desk and startling the brunette as she finally noticed him. “I really can’t let him go with a stranger.”

“Oh, Arthur said something about a list. I’m Ariadne.”

Eames quirked a brow at her and checked the information he had for Theo. He found her name on the list of approved people.

His chest tightened at the realisation of who she was. There hadn’t been one moment where Eames had explicitly thought of Arthur’s sexuality, but now that he was faced with it, it was obvious. How else could Arthur have procreated?

“Ah, nice to meet you. I’ll see you on Monday, Theo.” Eames forced a smile and waited until they had left before sinking into his chair, letting his ridiculous thoughts overwhelm him. At least Eames would have less reason to think of Arthur now that he’d met Theo’s mother.

It was embarrassing how quickly Eames had formed an attachment to Arthur. They never spoke outside of pick-ups and drop-offs, but Eames’ imagination was extremely overactive and he could fill in any scenario that played out in his head.

Eames groaned, dropping his head to the desk. There was only one thing he could do to get over whatever this thing was. He had to go out, find someone to take to bed and stop thinking about Arthur as anything more than Theo’s father. He just hoped it worked.

 

* * *

 ***

* * *

 

Arthur adjusted his jacket, wondering if he was overdressed for a parent teacher meeting. He’d decided on a pair of dark trousers, light blue button up, and a grey blazer. In an attempt to not be too formal, Arthur had forgone a tie and left the top button undone. But he wasn’t sure his outfit screamed anything but trying too hard and wondered if Mr. Eames would notice.

Arthur gave up on critiquing his outfit and left his bedroom. He was met with a wolf whistle from Ariadne and blushed furiously.

“Shut it,” he said, crossing to the couch to ruffle Theo’s hair. “You be good for Ari, okay?”

Theo nodded, grinning at him through a mouthful of animal crackers.

Arthur shook his head, returning the grin as he pressed a kiss to Theo’s head. “I’ll text when I’m on my way back.” He gave Theo’s hair one last ruffle and grabbed his keys before heading out.

 

It wasn’t that Arthur had expected the meeting to be one on one—he hadn’t really known what to expect—but twenty-odd parents in a kindergarten class really hadn’t crossed his mind. It was cramped and the chairs were too small for any sane adult to sit in, so Arthur leaned against a wall instead and listened as Mr. Eames talked about what their goals for the semester were.

Arthur allowed himself to just look at Mr. Eames and drowned out the noise. He hadn’t really let himself think about Theo’s teacher outside of school parameters—it seemed too much like tempting fate—but faced with nothing but Mr. Eames, there wasn’t much else he could do.

He found Mr. Eames’ lips the most fascinating, not only because they were so plush Arthur wondered what they would feel like against his own, but because of the way they moved around the words. Okay, and because of the way his tongue snuck out every now and then to lick at his lower lip. Arthur was only human and Mr. Eames was stupidly attractive.

After twenty minutes of questions and answers—that Arthur barely listened to—Mr. Eames suggested they might like to take a look around the class and eagerly pointed out areas of interest. The other parents scattered, some grouping together to discuss their children, but Arthur meandered off by himself, uninterested in making small talk.

Arthur took his time examining different areas of the room. He lingered over the small library corner, smiling at the books he remembered Theo animatedly discussing on their walks home. Eventually he found his way to a wall of art. They all had names in the lower left corner, thankfully taking any guess work out of figuring out which piece belonged to which kid.

Arthur scanned the pictures, grimacing in a way he hoped could be construed as a smile. He never understood why people thought kids’ art was so amazing. What was the fuss? It was mostly stick figures and scribbles. Arthur twisted his head, trying to figure out what was in the pictures when his eyes caught on Theo’s name.

The picture was of Theo and his parents. Even though they were stick figures, Arthur could tell exactly who was in the picture and his heart clenched with a sudden longing for Lizzie.

“It’s a great picture, isn’t it?” Mr. Eames asked, interrupting Arthur’s thoughts.

He hummed in response, not sure if he was agreeing or not. Arthur couldn’t take his eyes off the picture. He was worried there might be tears he couldn’t hold back if he did.

“He was talking about missing his parents and I suggested he should draw them, might make him miss you less. This is what he came up with. Very talented.”

Arthur wanted to laugh, wanted to contradict Mr. Eames and his stupid idea that it was a brilliant picture. It was stick figures. But he couldn’t open his mouth, couldn’t do much other than look around, hoping for someone else to talk to. There wasn’t anyone else in the classroom to save him, though. It was just him and Mr. Eames, and Arthur was absurdly close to losing his composure over a silly picture.

“Why do I get the feeling I’ve just put my foot in my mouth?”

Arthur swallowed, his gaze falling on Theo’s picture again. “Theo’s parents died last month.”

“You aren’t-?”

Arthur shook his head. “My sister.” He wanted to elaborate further but the words stuck in his throat. He hadn’t talked to anyone besides Ariadne about the accident and couldn’t bring himself to do it now. But somehow Mr. Eames got it and didn’t push further.

“It’s very nice of you and your wife to take him in.”

Arthur snapped his head in Mr. Eames’ direction. “Wife?”

“She picked Theo up last week,” Mr. Eames offered as a prompt.

Arthur closed his eyes, a chuckle threatening to spill out. Of course people would think that. He should have realised. “She’s not my wife.”

“Girlfriend, then.” Mr. Eames shrugged. “Still, it’s very nice.”

“Not my girlfriend.”

“Oh.”

“She’s my neighbour.”

“Okay.”

“Girlfriends aren’t really my thing.”

“Oh,” Mr. Eames said, his tone just that little bit more interested than it had been earlier.

“I should get back to Theo though,” Arthur said with a small smile. “It’d be great if you didn’t mention to him that you know about, you know...” He vaguely gestured at the picture, hoping he’d get the idea.

“Course.”

“Thank you, Mr. Eames.” Arthur nodded and headed for the door, pausing when he was called back.

“It's just Eames,” he said with a smile, his lips curling up at the corners.

Arthur smiled in return, his dimples sticking around long after he’d left the school.

 

* * *

***

* * *

 

Eames sat at a table at their usual bar, waiting for this mystery woman that Yusuf was apparently smitten with. They were two drinks in and Eames couldn’t help but wonder if this woman was entirely made up.

“She’s just running a little late,” Yusuf said, checking his phone for the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes. “There was some crisis with her neighbour, apparently.”

Eames nodded and finished off his beer. “You want another?” He waited for Yusuf to reply before heading to the bar and ordering two more of their usual.

While the bartender got the drinks, Eames let his mind wander to the night before, and Arthur’s revelation. It may not have seemed like much to anyone else, but it had flipped Eames’ world. Arthur didn’t have a girlfriend and he was gay. Sure, Eames had no idea whether or not Arthur had a boyfriend, but Theo never mentioned anyone else. Eames figured it was a fair assumption that Arthur was single. The only problem was that Arthur was still Theo’s guardian. He couldn’t bring himself to break that rule, no matter how much he wanted to.

Eames paid for the drinks and headed back to their table which now had a tiny brunette wrapped in a turquoise scarf sitting at it.

“Wondered what was taking so long. Eames, this is Ariadne.”

Eames blinked, staring at Ariadne. That was an unexpected turn of events. “You,” he breathed.

She grinned in response and plucked one of the beers out of his hands.

“Do you two know each other?” Yusuf asked, looking between the two of them as Eames took a seat, clutching the remaining beer in his hand.

“Not really,” Eames answered.

“My neighbour’s kid is in his class. I picked him up once. Eames wasn’t going to let me take him,” she said it with a chuckle but Eames could tell there was a small amount of respect tingeing her words.

Eames tipped his beer in her direction. “Yes, well, now I know who you are.”

“Do you?”

Eames hummed, nodding as he sipped his beer.

They stayed at the bar for hours, laughing and getting to know each other. Eames even allowed himself to ask a few questions about Arthur and Theo, attempting to play it cool about how much he really wanted to know. Thankfully, Ariadne pretended not to notice, but Yusuf didn’t and raised a brow at Eames every time Arthur’s name was brought up.

Eames left the bar a lot lighter than he had felt in months. He eventually collapsed into bed, fully clothed, and dreamed of Arthur and his dimples.

 

* * *

 

It was barely ten minutes into recess when the shouting filtered through the door to the classroom. Eames’ head snapped up and he frowned out the window next to him. He could see a group of his kids clumped together but couldn’t make out what the fuss was about.

Eames went to the door, his height gave him the perfect vantage to see Theo curl his hands into fists and punch Dayton in the face. There was a howl of pain and tears, launching Eames into action.

He waded through the children before any more damage could be done and got to Theo just in time to stop another punch.

“What’s going on here?” His voice cut through the noise and everyone froze, looking at Eames. Well, everyone except Theo who was standing, fists clenched and glaring at Dayton, his chest heaving.

“They were yelling,” one of the many bystanders helpfully pointed out.

“Theo punched Dayton,” another added while others started babbling in agreement.

“Okay, okay,” Eames said, again getting everyone to quieten. “Everyone else go back to playing. Theo, Dayton, come with me.” Eames waited just long enough to make sure the two boys were following him before leading them back into the classroom.

“Who’s going to tell me what happened?” Eames asked, arms folded over his chest as he leaned against his desk.

Theo stood frozen to the spot, his fists still clenched while Dayton pressed a hand to his face, shaking his head.

“Someone has to tell me what happened. Or I’ll have to ring both of your parents.” Even the threat wasn’t enough to get either boy to talk. “Theo, why did you punch Dayton?”

Theo’s lips thinned but still there was no response.

“I can’t help if I don’t know what happened.”

They all stood in silence for a few minutes before Eames gave up and told Theo to stay in the classroom while he took Dayton to the nurse. It was at the nurse that Eames finally noticed the cut on Dayton’s lip and Eames knew that he couldn’t just let the fight slide.

There had to be consequences.

He went back to the class and found Theo in a corner, knees drawn to his chest and face hidden in his knees. Eames felt bad for Theo. In the short time he’d been teaching the kid, there had never been a hint of violence. Eames wondered if it had anything to do with his parents and wished there was a way to ask without letting on that he knew.

Eames crouched and kept his voice soft. “Theo, I have to call Arthur. But before I do, will you tell me what happened? Why did you punch Dayton?”

Theo looked up at Eames, his eyes watery but he didn’t say anything.

Eames sighed and dragged a hand down his face. “Ok,” he said and got up with a groan, going to his desk to call Arthur.

The phone rang long enough that Eames was ready to hang up and try the other number when the call finally connected.

“Hello.” Arthur sounded distracted and out of breath.

Eames spared a look at Theo, noticing he had curled back in on himself. “Hi, Arthur, it’s Eames from Bailey Gatzert Elementary.” He paused only long enough to get a breath. He wanted to get it out, rip it off like a plaster. “There’s been an incident and we need you to come down to the school.”

“What do you mean an incident?”

“I’ll be able to explain better when you’re here.”

Arthur sighed. “Alright. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

 

Twenty minutes later, Eames and Theo were waiting in Saito’s office together. The silence was stifling but Theo still refused to say anything, no matter how many different ways Eames tried asking.

Eames wanted to ask Saito to give them ten minutes but he knew that would be frowned upon. Eames just desperately wanted a chance to find out what happened, because he knew it was bad enough to upset Theo. Plus, he wanted to be able to give Arthur answers when he finally arrived.

Arthur pushed through the office door, the air in the room shifting slightly as Eames noticed him. Before Eames could say anything, Arthur was crouching in front of Theo.

“Hey, you okay?”

Theo nodded but still didn’t say anything.

Saito spoke up before Arthur could say anything else. “Mr. Pointer, unfortunately Theodore was caught fighting with another student.”

“Excuse me?” Arthur said as he stood, his full height suddenly intimidating even to Eames.

“There was a fight with another student. Fighting is against school rules, as I’m sure you’re aware. The other student has a split lip, but that appears to be all. However, this behaviour cannot be tolerated. We do understand emotions can run high, but cannot condone any form of violence as an acceptable means of solving problems.” Saito said everything in such a matter-of-fact tone that Eames had a hard enough time comprehending it.

“Theo?” Arthur asked, voice laced with disbelief, but Theo still refused to open his mouth.

“Thank you for coming in, Mr. Pointer. We will arrange a meeting to discuss the situation further.” Saito’s tone was dismissive, leaving no room for further discussion.

Eames, Arthur, and Theo all filed out of the office.

Eames waited until they were outside before saying anything. “Look, I’m not sure what happened, why Theo hit Dayton, but I’ve gotta believe that it was something important. If I wasn’t a teacher here, I might say Dayton had it coming.”

Arthur let out a small strained laugh. Well, Eames was counting it as a laugh even though he was sure it couldn’t be classified as one.

“Just don’t punish him too much, yeah? And I’ll see you on Monday, ‘kay Theo?”

Theo just nodded and slipped his hand into Arthur’s as they walked away.

 

* * *

***

* * *

 

They rode in a cab back home in absolute silence, Theo’s hand in Arthur’s the whole way.

Arthur had no idea how he was supposed to broach the subject of what happened, but he knew he had to. It wasn’t something that could be ignored in favour of Theo getting over it in his own time. Plus, Arthur wanted to know what made Theo resort to fighting when he wouldn’t even play fight with his own stuffed toys.

Once they were in the apartment, Theo was off in his bedroom, setting his backpack and school things in their rightful place.

Arthur used the moment of solitude to hide in the bathroom and called Ari while he ran a bath for Theo.

“Can you do me a favour?” he asked as soon as the call connected.

“Hey Arthur, how am I? That’s so nice of you to ask.”

Arthur sighed and sat on the edge of the tub. “Sorry, Ari. How are you?”

“Don’t worry about it. What can I do for you? You okay?”

“No. Yes… I don’t know.” Arthur ran a hand through his hair. “Something came up with Theo and I haven’t had a chance to run to the store. Could you maybe—”

“Sure, I’ll come get your card in five.”

“Thanks, Ari.” Arthur hung up just as Theo poked his head through the door. “Hey,” Arthur said with a small smile. “You ready to talk?”

Theo shook his head and shuffled his way over to Arthur, wrapping his arms around Arthur’s legs.

Arthur sighed and returned the hug. What he wanted to do was grill Theo for every last detail but he knew it wasn’t going to help. Theo was far too much like him for it to do any good. Even though it frustrated him, Arthur resigned himself to the fact that he would never know what made Theo lash out. “Come on, you have a bath. Ari’s gonna get us some food.”

 

By the time Ari was back, Arthur and Theo were on the couch, watching a movie but not saying a word to one another.

Arthur still hadn’t figured out how to ask Theo what happened. Lizzie would know just what to ask, the right words to make Theo open up and spill his every secret. Arthur hadn’t learned that trick yet; he wasn’t even sure he ever would.

“I didn’t know what you might wanna eat, but I got some ready-made pasta for you.” Ari had already set up bowls on the breakfast bar with steaming piles of cheesy pasta. The smell alone was enough to draw Arthur from the couch.

“Thanks Ari,” he said as he and Theo sat at the counter and dug in. “You not having any?”

“Actually, I’ve got a date.”

Arthur dropped his fork and chewed quickly, swallowing almost a whole mouthful of pasta. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“You needed the help. I can stick around to help with whatever is going on.”

“Fuck, Ari. Go, we’re fine. Thank you. But off you go. Let me know how it goes later.”

“If you need me, Arthur.”

“I won’t. Promise. Go get laid.”

Ari laughed and headed back to her own apartment while Arthur finished eating his pasta with Theo poking at it in silence beside him.

 

Once the dishes were rinsed and stacked in the dishwasher, Arthur and Theo found their way back to the couch and resumed the movie from earlier. They were both still quiet, Arthur lost in his thoughts about how he could get Theo to open up.

He was truly at a loss. They’d never encountered a problem like this before and Arthur was totally out of his depth. He wondered if he should call Eames and get some advice on what to do. Eames had to have some good ideas, he did work with children every day after all.

Arthur stood, patting his pockets as he tried to remember what he’d done with his phone.

“I don’t wanna go to school.”

Arthur paused mid pat. He turned his head to check that Theo had spoken up but Theo wasn’t looking at Arthur. He was frowning down at his lap, his hands clasped tightly together.

“Why not?” Arthur asked, the words a little drawn out with confusion.

“It’s stupid.”

Arthur frowned, sitting back down slowly. It was the most Theo had spoken since Arthur had seen him that morning and he didn’t want to spook him into silence again. God, he wished Lizzie was there to handle this. Arthur knew he was going to make a mess of it all.

“The kids are stupid,” Theo pouted, his fingers twirling patterns into the couch.

Arthur took a breath. Something felt important here—like there was an entirely different conversation going on—and he knew he had to think about what he said before he said it. “We could find you a new school.”

Theo blinked up at him, finally looking Arthur in the eye for the first time in hours. “Really?”

“Of course, buddy. If you don’t like it there, we’ll find you somewhere better.”

Theo stared at Arthur, his fingers still twitching against the couch. It was less of a pattern now, though.

Arthur wanted to do something more, continue the conversation somehow, but he wasn’t sure what he could do. He was afraid Theo would shut down again and if that happened, he would never get to the bottom of what happened with the other kid.

“Do you want to find a new school?”

“I like Mr. Eames,” Theo said softly. “He’s nice to me.”

“I like him too.” It was true, though Arthur probably liked him far more than was proper.

“I don’t want a new school.”

“Okay,” Arthur said with a small smile. It was progress at least.

“He said mommy didn’t want me. That’s why I only have a daddy. But you’re not my daddy, you’re my Arthur and I told him and he said that was worse that my parents didn’t want me and I was stuck with you.” Theo rushed through the words, barely pausing for a breath between his sentences. It made it harder to follow, but somehow Arthur managed to catch every word.

His chest ached at the thought of someone telling Theo his parents wouldn’t want him. He couldn’t imagine what kind of kid would want to hurt someone like that. Arthur was going to call Eames and tell him what happened, now that he’d found out, but a loud, shuddering intake of breath drew Arthur’s gaze to Theo.

Theo was looking up at him, his eyes wide and wet, lower lip trembling as tears started to spill over his cheeks.

Arthur reached out and pulled Theo into his lap, wrapping his arms around the boy. “Your mommy and daddy loved you very much. I wish they could see how well you’ve been doing.”

Theo clutched at Arthur’s shirt, his small body shaking with the force of his tears.

“ _I_ love you,” Arthur said, pressing his lips to Theo’s unruly hair. “I will remind you every single day.”

Theo pressed closer to Arthur, his sniffles louder but the sobs seemed to be dying down.

“Next time,” Arthur started softly, “if someone says something that upsets you, can you find Mr. Eames?”

Theo hiccupped and nodded, his face still pressed to Arthur’s shirt.

It was starting to get uncomfortable, the wet fabric sticking to his skin, but he couldn’t bring himself to shift his nephew.

 

They stayed that way until Theo fell asleep and Arthur carried him off to bed. He stood in the doorway, watching Theo sleeping for a moment as he wondered if he should tell Eames what had actually happened between Theo and the other kid.

Deciding it was something better left thought about later, Arthur closed Theo’s door over, leaving it open just a crack, and went to his own room. He fell into bed, fully clothed and fell asleep before he could consider changing.

 

* * *

 

“Come on, Arthur. It’s just a football game—”

“That goes on for hours,” Arthur cut in. “What am I supposed to do with Theo if both of us are there?” Arthur asked as he wiped down the breakfast bar.

Somehow, during breakfast, Theo had managed to spill half his bowl of cheerios over the bench and had dragged his fingers through every inch of milk and soggy bit of cereal before Arthur noticed, and now Arthur was left with a very wet five year old and benchtop.

Theo was in the bath, Ariadne watching him while Arthur cleaned.

“You could bring him as well. Theo would love it,” she called out.

“I would,” Theo chimed in.

Arthur rolled his eyes as he threw away the pile of soggy paper towels he had accumulated. Trust Theo to get in on it. He was never one to turn down an invitation from Ari.

“Fine. But the minute either of us gets bored, we’re leaving,” Arthur called in response, wiping down the bench top with some spray and wipe.

 

Hours later Arthur and Theo were sprawled on the carpet of Ariadne’s boyfriend’s living room. Yusuf had told them to make themselves at home and Theo had taken him rather literally. He was mostly ignoring all of the toys Arthur had brought with them in favour of asking a million questions about football—only some of them Arthur could answer.

Arthur wasn’t that big on football. He knew enough about the basics to get by but Ariadne had thankfully been more than happy to fill in any blanks in Arthur’s knowledge, saving him from Theo’s ire.

There were a few others there for the match but everyone seemed uninterested in Arthur or Theo on the floor and Theo was just as uninterested in them. That was, until someone else entered.

Arthur could hear people welcoming the newcomer and glanced over his shoulder to see who it was but couldn’t see past those already standing. Theo, however, was off like a shot, leaving Arthur scrambling to stand and chase after him.

Arthur managed to catch him around the waist just as he was about to throw himself at one of the guests. Arthur apologised profusely before looking up and found Eames looking at the both of them with a grin; well, Arthur thought it was really more of a smirk.

“I didn’t know you were such a football fan, Theo.”

“Arthur’s been telling me all ‘bout it.”

“Is that so? Maybe he can tell me all about it as well.”

Arthur blushed a little, looking away. “Sorry. Come on Theo, let’s go back and watch.”

Theo wriggled out of Arthur’s grasp and took Eames’ hand, leading him back to their little spot of the floor.

More people had moved to the living room, making it a little more crowded, but the floor was still free and the three of them settled down on it. Arthur sat up this time, his legs crossed, but Eames sprawled out, resting on his hands behind him with his legs straight out.

Arthur swallowed, desperately trying to keep his eyes off Eames’ thighs. It was near impossible though, with the way his jeans stretched tantalisingly over them. Arthur couldn’t stop his thoughts from wondering what it would be like to have one pressed between his own.

“—much football, Arthur?”

Arthur blinked, realising far too late that he’d been caught staring. “Sorry, what?”

Theo giggled and launched himself at Arthur, tackling him to the floor. “You’re red,” Theo teased, making Arthur blush more.

“Shush, you.” Arthur tickled Theo, wringing fits of laughter out of him in an attempt to distract everyone from how flushed he was.

“Stop,” Theo squealed, wriggling free from Arthur and moving to the safety Eames provided.

“Traitor.”

Theo stuck out his tongue at Arthur and climbed onto Eames’ shoulders, forcing him to sit up properly and grab Theo’s legs so he wouldn’t fall.

“Hop down,” Arthur said, worried Theo was going to hurt Eames or himself.

“It’s okay,” Eames said, swinging the boy over his shoulders and onto the floor.

It looked like it should have hurt but Theo giggled and climbed onto Eames’ shoulders again, demanding another turn.

Arthur barely noticed the game starting or more people settling around them. His attention was focused solely on Theo and Eames playing. It was good seeing his nephew smiling and laughing. It felt like it had been years since he’d seen it and Arthur was more than willing to do anything to keep him this happy. He wondered how he could manage that.

 

It was a little before half-time when Theo crawled into Arthur’s lap, wrapping himself around Arthur like an octopus.

“I wanna go home,” Theo complained, nuzzling into Arthur’s shirt.

“The game isn’t finished yet, buddy.” Arthur rubbed a hand over Theo’s back, eliciting a small, sleepily pleased hum from the boy.

“I wanna go home,” Theo repeated more forcefully.

Eames chuckled, breaking Arthur out of his little bubble with Theo. He’d almost forgotten Eames was there, next to him. They’d fallen into a comfortable silence, watching the game as Theo played with the few toys Arthur had brought along.

“The game isn’t finished yet. I thought you wanted to stay till it was over,” Arthur said, still rubbing Theo’s back in a soothing way he knew would put the kid to sleep.

“Yusuf won’t mind if you put him down in his bed,” Eames said, interrupting Arthur’s thoughts of leaving and getting Theo home and into bed.

“Oh, that’s okay. I should probably just get him home.”

“Come on, I’ll put him down for you.” Eames crouched in front of Arthur and took Theo, cradling him in his arms and walking out of the living room before Arthur could argue again. “Maybe there’ll be a treat waiting for you when you wake up.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want Theo to sleep, far from it, Arthur just wasn’t entirely sure about leaving Theo alone when the house was full of strangers. He didn’t want him to wake up alone and worry that Arthur had left.

Yusuf’s apartment was pretty small with one bedroom, but that made it easy to find where Eames had taken Theo off to. Arthur paused outside the bedroom, leaning against the doorframe as he listened to Eames telling Theo a story. Arthur couldn’t stop the little chuckle that escaped. Theo was a manipulative one.

“Once there was a three-toed sloth who wished he had more toes, so he made some out of Play-Doh. They were yellow. One day he confused them for bananas and ate them. Then he got sick and threw up. The sloth decided three toes were plenty.”

Theo giggled a little. “Another.”

“You’re a demanding one, aren’t you?” Eames teased and tucked the blankets tighter around Theo. “If I tell you another, will you go to sleep?”

Arthur saw Theo nod, eagerly watching Eames. It was adorable, the way the two of them interacted and Arthur couldn’t keep his eyes off Eames. There was an ease to him that made Arthur want to ask for his own bedtime stories.

“Once,” Eames started, “there was an elephant who didn’t like ice cream because it was too cold. He put it in the microwave and ate it like soup. It spilled down his chin and made a mess. No more ice cream for that elephant, I guess.”

Arthur watched Theo grab out and hold onto Eames’ arm as he curled around it, demanding Eames stay until he had fallen asleep. Arthur wanted to go in and relieve Eames of the job but Theo was already drifting off. He smiled, noticing that Eames used his free hand to rub at Theo’s back like Arthur usually did when the boy couldn’t sleep.

Theo was out within minutes, his soft even breaths making their way over to Arthur at the door. Eames made sure Theo was asleep before he got up slowly so not to disturb him.

“Thank you,” Arthur said when Eames left the bedroom, closing the door over behind him.

“No worries,” Eames replied with a smile. “He’s a good kid.”

Arthur nodded. “He would’ve gone to sleep without the stories.”

“That’s okay. I liked it.”

“You’re really good with him,” Arthur said, relishing the way it made Eames smile.

“Thank you, Arthur.”

Warmth spread through Arthur at the way Eames said his name. It didn’t sound boring and plain the way Eames dragged out the vowels. He wondered how he could get Eames to say it again without coming across as a weirdo.

“We should get back,” Arthur said, suddenly noticing he was standing in a hallway alone with Eames.

“Mmm yes. After you.” Eames gestured to the living room and let Arthur lead. “A tight end has always been my favourite.”

“What?” Arthur asked, sure he’d misheard him.

“Don’t you like a tight end?” Eames winked at Arthur and moved past him into the living room, clasping Yusuf on the shoulder and stealing his beer.

Arthur was still standing dumbstruck when Ari came over and waved her hand in his face.

“Earth to Arthur, you in there?”

“I—He—A tight end?”

Ariadne laughed and dragged Arthur back to the living room, setting him in the same spot as before.

Eames came over and sat next to Arthur, passing over a beer that Arthur took without question. He was still caught up in Eames’ comment, wondering if he was talking about football or Arthur’s ass.

 

When the game finally finished, Arthur wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone who won. Eames had sat next to him the entire second half, his legs slowly spreading wider until their thighs were touching. It was all Arthur had been able to think about—the press of Eames’ thigh, the warmth spreading through him, if Eames’ thigh really was that firm.

“Arthur,” Theo said, shuffling through the living room to stand in front of him as he rubbed at his eyes.

Arthur stood, missing Eames’ warmth, and picked Theo up. “Hey, buddy. Time to go home?” he asked as Theo wrapped his limbs around Arthur, nodding into his shoulder.

“Let me help.” Eames grabbed Arthur’s bag, stuffing the few toys back in before handing it over.

Arthur took it with a smile.

“Do you need help getting him home?”

“We’ll be okay.”

“Arthur, you’re off?” Ariadne asked, interrupting whatever little moment Eames and he had been having.

“Yeah, you coming or are you staying?” He hoisted Theo up a little higher, disrupting the kid’s sleepy cuddle.

“Gotta help clean up, don’t I?”

Arthur shook his head. He wasn’t going to point out she didn’t need an excuse to stay. He just smiled and headed for the front door.

Eames was there before him, holding it open so he wouldn’t have to jostle Theo again.

“Goodbye, Arthur.”

He smiled, trying to contain his pleasure in hearing his name from those lips again. “Goodbye, Mr. Eames.”


	3. November

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I wanna apologise for this having taken so long to get up!  
> I got distracted by several new fic ideas (it's a constant problem I have, just ask amy) but I did actually manage to finish this chapter!  
> So here it is! Enjoy and please forgive any mistakes that you find.
> 
> Many thanks to lbswasp for the quick beta!

Arthur snoozed his alarm and curled up under his blankets, burrowing further into the warmth as he attempted to go back to sleep. He needed to get up, he knew he did, but there was an overwhelming part of him that wanted to call in sick and spend the whole day at home watching crappy movies and eating ice cream.

When his alarm went off again, Arthur gave in and pulled the blankets around him tighter.

He got a few minutes of peace before the patter of little feet filtered through his bedroom door. The noise was quickly followed by the door opening and fingers poking him in the face.

“We’re going to be late,” Theo whispered, breath hot and tickly in Arthur’s face.

Arthur grabbed Theo’s arm and pulled him under the blankets.

“Hmmm, how would you like to stay home?” Arthur asked, chuckling as the boy wriggled to face him.

“Really?” Theo smiled, his eyes widening with the realisation of what Arthur said.

Arthur nodded, happy to see dimples denting the boy’s cheeks. “We can do whatever you want today.”

“The otters?” Theo asked, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Anything you want.”

 

After spending an extra half-hour in bed, they climbed out and settled into their morning routine. While Theo ate breakfast, Arthur called the school and then Dom. He was running out of vacation days—as Dom so helpfully informed him—but Arthur didn’t care. Theo was smiling a full dimpled smile that Arthur had barely seen since before the accident, and he was going to do whatever he could to keep it.

 

“Arthur, Arthur!”

Arthur stood, hurriedly shoving his foot into the shoe that was half on. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked, rushing over to his nephew.

“Where’re my galoshes?” Theo asked, wriggling out of Arthur’s grip as he stared Arthur down.

Arthur should have guessed it would only be a matter of time before Theo went looking for them. “How about you put on your docs? They’d go well with your coat.”

Theo didn’t wait for Arthur to stop speaking before he was off and in Arthur’s room. Loud noises escaped the open door; banging, crashing, and thumps all drew Arthur towards his bedroom.

He was a little afraid of what he was going to find when Theo burst out of the room, red galoshes in hand, and a triumphant grin on his face.

“C’mon Theo, wear the docs for me?”

“No. I want the galoshes,” he said as he shoved a socked foot into each one, wriggling his whole body until they slid on properly.

Arthur sighed, dragging a hand down his face as he fought the urge to help. “At least wear the coat.”

Theo stood, hands on his hips as he regarded Arthur with his head cocked to one side. He didn’t so much as nod, just turned on his heel and stalked off to his bedroom.

At least he won that round.

Arthur sat back down on the couch and finished tying his shoe. It was a day off from work but Arthur still liked to take care with his appearance. He’d dressed in his favourite dark-washed jeans, a plain white button-up, a grey and navy blue argyle sweater, and a pair of brown oxfords that would stand up to a bit of walking. Arthur had forgone putting in his contacts, wearing his tortoise shell glasses to save his eyes.

He was grabbing his pea coat out of the closet by the door when Theo burst back into the living room, both arms on his hips as he struck a pose.

Arthur groaned, banging his head against the closet door as he closed it. He was going to kill Eames for ever giving Theo a cape. It was all the boy wore anymore and Arthur had tried to hide it many times in the two weeks since Eames had made them with the class, but Theo found it every single time. Arthur still hadn’t figured out why Eames had given Theo the cape in the first place. The only answer he’d gotten was “because I thought he’d like it” and Theo loved it. Some days he wore it with the red side facing out, others with the yellow.

Today was a red day.

Thankfully the rest of the clothes Arthur had picked out were still on—jeans, t-shirt, and a dark green sweater—and they mostly didn’t clash with the cape. It wasn’t worth the effort of fighting so Arthur grabbed a coat for Theo out of the closet before leading the boy out of the apartment.

 

Their first stop of the day was the aquarium. Despite living in Seattle for a decade, Arthur had never actually made it into the aquarium before so they were both equally excited about it. Though, Theo was much more obvious in his excitement, especially about the otters.

After paying for their tickets, Arthur grabbed a map, noting that there was a fairly logical path mapped out. Before he had a chance to show Theo the map and the path, the boy was off, fingers dipping under the water to touch whatever unsuspecting creature was closest.

“Look, Arthur, starfish,” Theo called, fingers dragging through the water as he desperately tried to touch one.

Arthur stood next to Theo, one arm looped around the boy’s waist to stop him from falling in. “Very cool,” he said, letting his own hand dip under the water to touch one of the starfish.

It didn’t take long before Theo got bored with the sea critters and bounced off towards the giant octopus.

Arthur stared at the octopus, watching its tentacles press against the glass as it shifted then pushed off, propelling itself to a different part of the tank.

Theo didn’t last long at the octopus, drawn in by the colourful fish darting in and out of the reef.

But they didn’t last long there either and moved through the bird exhibits just as quickly. It wasn’t until they were sitting watching the otters swim around their enclosure that Theo sat still for longer than two minutes.

Arthur was surprised that it was the otters that got Theo to calm down, but Arthur enjoyed them as much as his nephew. He had to admit that there was something about them that was cute and Arthur could have sat there watching them all day.

Half an hour later, Arthur convinced Theo that they should move on. It wasn’t that they had big plans for their day, but Arthur was getting antsy sitting in the same spot and needed to move. He was surprised it wasn’t Theo that needed to move first.

“I want this,” Theo declared, holding up a small stuffed otter in the gift shop.

Arthur stared at his nephew, his eyes darting between the boy and the toy. “No,” he said, turning around to head out of the aquarium.

“But, Arrrrrrrrrthuuuuuuuuuur...”

Arthur sighed when he saw Theo’s wide-eyed look as he clutched the stuffed toy to his chest.

“Please. His name is Ollie,” he said, batting his eyes at Arthur.

It shouldn’t have been that easy to get Arthur to give in, it really shouldn’t have been. But Arthur relented. He had to remind himself that the grin Theo was wearing was worth any amount of money.

 

They decided on going to Michou Deli for lunch. It was a bit of a walk from the aquarium, but Arthur knew the food was going to be worth it. The weather was beautiful—blue sky and hardly any clouds—so Theo didn’t seem to mind the walk too much. Plus they played I-Spy the whole way there, Theo’s turns getting more and more absurd as they went.

Arthur still didn’t know where the red thing on a door was and resigned himself to the fact that he was never going to win against a five-year-old that was still figuring out what letter started certain words.

The deli was surprisingly quiet when they got there. Figuring they got in just before the lunch rush, Arthur took advantage, letting Theo si at the counter while he ordered lunch—a panini for himself and mac and cheese for Theo.

When their food arrived, Theo downed it all faster than Arthur ate his panini and complained that he was still hungry.

“How can you possibly have any room left? You’re tiny,” Arthur complained as Theo tucked into his ice cream cone.

Theo just grinned at him, chocolate ringing his lips.

Arthur sighed, ruffling his nephew’s hair as they walked back towards the apartment.

He’d sort of run out of ideas of things to do. Even though he’d lived in Seattle for ten years, Arthur didn’t really know what would be fun for a five year old and felt like he’d burned through the only activity he could think of too fast. He was thinking of how they should’ve stayed at the aquarium longer when Theo pulled him into a library.

Before he let Theo loose on all the books, Arthur took him to the bathroom, cleaning off all the ice cream that had dripped on Theo’s hands.

“How did you manage to get it on your elbow?” Arthur marvelled as he inspected Theo for any more stray spots of chocolate.

Theo shrugged, a smug smile plastered on his face as Arthur wiped him down.

Not finding any more dried ice cream, Arthur took him back out into the kids section of the library. It was mostly empty, people too busy with work to be hanging out in a public library during the day. Arthur enjoyed it though. He was free to look around while Theo made a small pile of books he wanted to issue.

 

They spent half an hour in the library and Theo left with five books—Arthur had found it impossible to say no to him getting that many—but Arthur left with one. The library had given them a bag to carry the books home in and Arthur was silently thanking authors for making children’s books so goddamn thin.

“Can we watch a movie?” Theo asked when they were a block from home.

“Course. Your choice,” Arthur replied with a smile as he grabbed Theo’s hand to cross the road.

If they were going to have a movie night, they were going to need supplies and Arthur had nothing in the apartment. Well, nothing that would be good enough to induce a sugar coma.

The supermarket was almost as empty as the library had been. Arthur noted the time, trying to commit it to memory so he could avoid the larger crowds later as well.

Arthur grabbed a trolley, placing the bag of books in it while he followed Theo around the store.

Theo gleefully moved through the aisles, chucking all sorts of things into the trolley—oreos, skittles, m&m’s, popcorn, milk duds, and twizzlers.

Arthur wanted to protest, wanted to say they only needed one or two things, but they were having a fun day and he didn’t want to spoil it by playing the bad guy. He also figured there wasn’t really much harm, there wasn’t school the next day so no one else would have to suffer through Theo’s sugar hangover.

“What about these?” Arthur asked, turning around with a box of animal crackers only to find Theo wasn’t behind him like he’d thought. “Theo?” Arthur called, setting the box back on the shelf.

“Theo,” he called again. Arthur couldn’t see his nephew in the aisle and walked to one end, pushing the trolley with him. He looked both ways but didn’t spot Theo so tried the next aisle over. “Theo, buddy where are you?” Arthur could feel panic starting to build inside him, scenarios of Theo having been kidnapped playing through his head. How could he have let this happen? Arthur knew he should never have been left in charge of a child and now it was just being proven.

Arthur turned down the next aisle and saw Theo’s dark curls bobbing excitedly. Arthur rushed to him, grabbing his hand. “Theo, you can’t run off like that,” he scolded, but his heart wasn’t really in it. He was too relieved that Theo was safe, even if he did want to shake the kid and make sure he never did something like that again.

“Thank you—” he said, the rest of the sentence dying in his throat as he looked up to find Eames smiling at him.

“Hi there,” Eames said after what felt like an agonisingly long awkward silence while they stared at one another.

“Hi,” Arthur breathed, all words having flown from his head at the sight of Theo’s hot teacher.

“We’re having a movie night. Arthur’s getting snacks and we’re gonna watch Willy Wonka. Can Mr. Eames watch too?” Theo burst into their non-conversation, chatting a mile a minute.

“Theo I’m sure Mr. Eames has other plans for the evening,” Arthur said, trying to let Eames off the hook from whatever Theo was trying to get him into.

“I would love to watch Willy Wonka with you Theo, but Arthur is right, I have other plans.”

Theo pouted, arms crossed as he glared at the two of them like they personally planned this affront to his perfect evening planning skills.

Arthur sighed. “Another night, okay?” It took a moment for Arthur’s brain to catch up with his mouth and he blushed, resolutely avoiding Eames’ gaze.

“Definitely.” Eames said, smiling when Arthur looked at him, eyes widened in surprise.

Arthur mumbled for Theo to go over and look at the ice cream next to them. When Theo was out of earshot, Arthur turned to Eames. “That’s really nice of you, but Theo will forget about inviting you over in a few days.”

“In that case, would you like to get a drink with me sometime?”

Arthur stared for a moment and was saved from answering by Theo coming back with a tub of cookies and cream.

“This one,” Theo declared as he stuck it into the trolley. “Bye Mr. Eames.” Theo started dragging Arthur off as Eames laughed a goodbye to the two of them.

Arthur turned back, stopping Theo with a soft tug on his hand. “Yes,” Arthur answered, returning the pleased grin Eames gave him.

As they left the store, bags of junk food in hand while Theo swung the bag of books back and forwards, Arthur wondered what he’d just agreed to and how easily he could back out of it without making things difficult for Theo.

 

* * *

 

He had nothing to wear. Not a damn thing in his closet was date worthy and he was fast running out of time to actually get ready.

Eames had said to meet at eight and it was already seven. The last thing he wanted to do was be late so, cancelling was high on his list of ideas on how to solve the clothing issue.

“I thought the blue shirt from before was good,” Ari said, a deranged smile on her face.

She had come over at half five after Arthur had begged for her help but she had just sat on the bed and played with Theo. Neither of them had offered any real suggestion and that was why Arthur was having an existential crisis over a fucking outfit.

“Neither of you are helping,” Arthur groaned, dragging a hand through his messy hair. “This is ridiculous, I should cancel.”

“No, you can’t!” Theo proclaimed from his spot on the bed. “Mr. Eames will be sad. Don’t make him sad.”

“What about me, Theo? What if he makes me sad?” he asked the questions as he launched himself at Theo, cuddling the small boy to his chest as he struggled.

“I’ll beat him up,” Theo panted, trying to get away.

Arthur laughed and pressed a kiss to Theo’s curls. “Right. So blue shirt, black jeans, blazer?” He tilted his head back to check with Ari that he wasn’t making an entirely wrong choice and found her nodding. “Okay,” he mumbled and kissed Theo once more before getting off the bed to dress. If he put it off any longer, there was no chance in hell that he was going to make it on time.

“Right, I should go. I look alright?” He held out his for inspection, smiling when Theo nodded seriously. “Be good for, Ari,” he said with a small wave.

“We won’t wait up,” Ari called after Arthur as he left the apartment, nerves fluttering away in his stomach.

They’d arranged to meet up at a bar that Arthur had never heard of, but he supposed that it wasn’t surprising at all. Since he’d gotten custody of Theo, Arthur hadn’t had any time that hadn’t involved the kid in some way. This was the first evening he’d had that didn’t involve Theo clinging to him and he was both nervous and excited.

Arthur stopped on the corner. He could see the bar lit up like it was Christmas and, leaning against a street lamp outside, Eames was waiting. At school, Eames wore the most hideous clothing that were an affront to Arthur’s eyes. But here Eames was wearing dark jeans, a grey t-shirt stretched tight across his chest, and a leather jacket. He looked intimidatingly hot.

Arthur had never felt more out of his league than at that very moment.

Eames glanced around as though he could feel someone watching him and smiled at Arthur, causing his heart to skip a beat.

Now that he’d been spotted Arthur couldn’t bolt, so he walked over to Eames, attempting to act much calmer than he was feeling.

“Perfect timing,” Eames said, guiding Arthur into the bar with a hand pressed to the small of his back.

The bar itself was about half full which gave it a comfortable feel and since the bar had no actual roof, Arthur didn’t feel claustrophobic. He was fascinated with the canopy overhead, trying to figure out what flowers were up there and how anyone watered them, so he didn’t notice Eames stop and collided with him.

“Shit, sorry,” Arthur clamoured, trying desperately to get his feet back under him.

“It’s alright, Arthur,” Eames said with a smile. “It is kind of magical.”

“It really is.” Arthur returned the smile, willing himself not to look at the canopy again. No matter how gorgeous it was, it had nothing on the way Eames’ lips twisted up in a way that had Arthur wishing he could just lean over and kiss them.

“What would you like?”

It took Arthur far longer than he was willing to admit to realise that Eames meant what would he like to _drink_. “Gin and tonic.”

“Coming right up,” Eames answered and disappeared off to get their drinks.

Arthur watched him go, admiring the curve of Eames’ ass as he leaned against the bar, chatting amiably with the bartender. He could watch Eames all night long, if he let himself. But, figuring Eames would probably find it a tad creepy that Arthur was staring, he went off in search of a place to sit.

He found somewhere that was off in a corner, slightly apart from the rest of the patrons but not too far away that Eames might get weirded out by the distance.

Arthur settled himself on a stool, trying not to rethink his seating choice while he waited for Eames. It had been a few months since he’d been on a date, ever since Theo had gone to live with him, and it was as though Arthur had forgotten everything about what to do on a date. He’d managed it successfully before. Surely things hadn’t changed that much in the time he’d been out of the dating scene?

“Here we are,” Eames said as he set a drink down in front of Arthur and settled on the seat next to him.

A part of him had expected Eames to take the seat opposite, but he found that he actually preferred Eames sitting close to him. Even through his jacket, Arthur could feel the warmth Eames was emitting and he fought the urge to scoot a little closer.

“Thanks.” He grabbed the glass, sliding it over and wracked his brain for something to say, anything at all. But all he could think of was how much Sesame Street had changed since he was a kid and that wasn’t the kind of conversation you had with _anyone_. Especially not if you wanted to get them into your bed.

“So—”

“How—”

They both froze, smiling and laughing as they stumbled over each other.

There hadn’t really been any problems talking before. They’d successfully had a conversation without looking like idiots. Arthur was pretty sure they could manage it again. But he couldn’t stop the little niggle at the back of his mind that Theo was the thing they had in common. Maybe they couldn’t converse without the kid. That was going to be a shame. Arthur had really wanted this date to go well.

“So, is this the part where we awkwardly talk about the weather and not acknowledge the gut-wrenching terror we’re both experiencing right now?”

Eames’ comment was so unexpected and yet on point that Arthur couldn’t actually contain his laughter. It was too perfect and Arthur felt better knowing that he wasn’t the only one feeling nervous.

“Well, it is unseasonably warm for November,” Arthur said when he’d finally managed to get control of himself, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Too right,” Eames agreed, nodding with a huge grin on his face.

Maybe the night wasn’t a complete wash.

 

“This is me.” Arthur wished the walk from the bar to his apartment building had taken longer. He was thoroughly enjoying being in Eames’ presence and, after they’d finally gotten over the awkward start, everything had gone smoothly. In fact, Arthur had never actually had such a good first date and he really wished the night could continue. Unfortunately, he had to relieve Ari. He couldn’t leave Theo with her for an entire night. Theo didn’t deserve that and he supposed she didn’t either.

“Ah,” Eames breathed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Well then…”

“I’d invite you up—”

“But Theo’s up there,” Eames finished for him.

Arthur nodded. He really did want to invite Eames up for a coffee, only coffee, but he didn’t really want to deal with Eames meeting Ari as he relieved her. That was something that would come later. Much, much later if Arthur had his way.

“Well, goodnight then,” Arthur said, turning to head inside but was stopped by a hand grabbing his. He turned and got halfway around before Eames leaned in and pressed his lips to Arthur’s own.

It took him by surprise and after a few seconds of Arthur not returning the kiss, Eames stepped back with a bashful look on his face.

He started to apologise but Arthur cut him off, pressing forward and kissing Eames. It was a chaste kiss, but Arthur couldn’t stop himself from licking Eames’ lips as they separated.

“Christ, Arthur,” Eames groaned, leaning forward as though he wanted to chase Arthur with another kiss.

“Goodnight Mr Eames,” Arthur said with a smirk and headed into the building. It took every ounce of will he had not to turn around and go back to Eames, but somehow he managed to actually make it up to his apartment without a backwards glance.

 

* * *

 ***

* * *

 

Monday’s were the devil.

Usually, Eames tried to have a quiet weekend so, when Monday rolled around, he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the kids. But today, today he was exhausted. He’d been up most of the night thinking of Arthur and wondering if it was too soon to call for and arrange another date.

He hadn’t, in the end.

He’d just stayed up all night, debating with himself and now he wanted to curl up under his desk and catch a few minutes of sleep. Not that the kids would have left him alone long enough to manage that.

Since school had started, they’d been all over him. Aurelia had news of the horse she’d gone to see on Saturday. Ethan wanted to show Eames the amazing robot he’d built. Emma had drawn Eames a picture that looked like it might have been a carrot but apparently was actually Eames. The only person that hadn’t been all over him was Theo and Eames wondered if something was wrong, again. Or maybe Theo knew about the date and it hadn’t gone as well as Eames thought it had.

“Hey, Theo,” Eames said, sitting in one of the tiny seats.

“Hi,” Theo replied, not looking up from the story he was writing.

“How are you today?”

“Fine.”

Eames pursed his lips. Theo wasn’t the most talkative kid in the class, but he was usually fairly happy to chat with Eames. Something was definitely up.

“Did you have a good weekend?”

“Yup.”

Well this wasn’t getting him anywhere.

“Good chat,” Eames said and stood from the table, looking out over the class. Chaos was reigning and Eames knew that if he didn’t get them under control soon, one of the other teachers were going to dob him in.

“Alright, kids,” Eames called, getting their attention. “Time to read our big book.”

 

Eames was grateful when that final bell rang and the class filed out, greeting their parents with enthusiastic recountings of what had happened. He could hear small snippets from some of the kids and was pleased to hear that they had remembered about the shapes they’d been learning. Hexagons had gone over a treat with the class and Eames now had twenty pictures of them on his desk with nowhere to actually put them.

He got up from his desk and examined the math wall, wondering what he could take down and replace with the kid's shapes. He was just reaching up to pull their graph of favourite colours off the wall when someone cleared their throat, startling him and sending him colliding with the wall.

“What the—?”

Arthur stood, resting a hip against Eames’ desk with a smirk on his face. “Hi,” he said as though he hadn’t nearly given Eames a heart attack.

“Hello,” Eames replied, wishing his brain wasn’t focusing on the way Arthur’s shirt had untucked just a little at the side.

“Hard at work, I see.”

“If you can call it that,” Eames muttered and righted himself, not wanting to look like more of a twat in Arthur’s eyes. “Where’s Theo?”

“Here,” the kid said, peeking out from behind Arthur.

“Hey there, mate.”

“Hello.”

They really had to get past whatever awkward pleasantries were going on. It was worse than the start of their date.

“You ask him,” Theo urged, poking Arthur’s side.

“What? Why? It was your idea,” Arthur retaliated, trying to usher Theo forward but the kid was stubborn and ducked out of Arthur’s reach. “Traitor.”

Eames tried to hold back the laugh that was bubbling up inside but he couldn’t help himself. Arthur and Theo were quite possibly the most adorable duo Eames had ever had the pleasure of watching. Though, Eames supposed that probably had something to do with the ridiculous crush he was harbouring on Arthur.

“ _Theo_ would like to invite you for Thanksgiving,” Arthur said, leaning heavily on the kid’s name which earned him a whack on his leg.

“Arthur wants you there too.”

“I don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving,” Eames said, regretting the words when he saw the way Theo’s face fell.

“Oh…”

Now Eames felt like a right twat for letting the kid down. He had no idea of what Thanksgiving involved except for overeating and going round saying what you were thankful for. It wasn’t exactly his idea of a good time. But, he supposed, if it got him more time with Arthur and made Theo stop looking as though Eames had kicked his puppy, it might not be so bad.

“What time should I arrive?”

 

* * *

 ***

* * *

 

Arthur had no idea why he had thought he could manage to have seven people over for Thanksgiving. He had a hard enough time feeding himself and Theo, but the idea of having guests made Theo smile in a way that Arthur loved and found impossible to say no to.

“They’ll be here soon,” Theo announced from where he was bouncing on the sofa, watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on the TV.

Normally, they’d watch together while Lizzie cooked up a storm in the kitchen, but Arthur only managed to catch glimpses of the screen while he attempted to not burn the apartment down. Thanksgiving without Lizzie and William was turning out to be much more stressful than Arthur had thought it would be. All he’d considered was how much he’d miss his twin but since he had basically camped out in the tiny kitchen, spooning various sauces into bowls and attempting to make the—very specific—green bean casserole Theo wanted, Arthur hadn’t had much time to think about Lizzie.

“Are you talking about our guests or the balloons?” Arthur asked as he stirred the casserole mixture. It wasn’t looking like what Lizzie used to make, but Arthur was desperately hoping it turned out better after it had baked for a bit.

“Guests,” Theo answered, his enthusiasm for the whole day making his whole body vibrate.

It was exciting, seeing Theo so happy about something and somehow not being upset that his parents weren’t there to share it with him. That was Arthur’s real worry about the day; no matter what he did, he couldn’t bring Lizzie or William back to share in any more Thanksgivings.

As though Theo had summoned the guests, there was a knock on the door, startling Arthur enough for him to drop the spoon into the casserole mixture.

“Shit,” he muttered as Theo ran and threw the door open, gleefully greeting and leading the first person in.

“And this is the kitchen,” Theo announced, surprising Arthur again. “Arthur’s making green bean casserole like mommy makes.”

“Now that’s something I never thought I’d see.”

Arthur dropped the spoon into the mix again, cursing as he fished it out and attempting to play it cool.

“Hi,” he mumbled as he turned around, cleaning the spoon on a tea towel as he smiled at Eames. It had only been a few days since they’d last seen each other but it felt longer for Arthur and he couldn’t help but stare. He looked good; good enough that Arthur was tempted to have him for Thanksgiving dinner.

Eames winked at him, as though he could read Arthur’s thoughts.

“Shut up,” Arthur muttered and went back to the casserole, finally deeming it ready to go into the oven. He just hoped it turned out alright. Other than inviting people over, the casserole had been the only thing Theo had actually asked for. Arthur didn’t want to let him down.

“Need a hand?”

“I could use a drink,” Arthur replied as he surveyed the kitchen, dreading the clean up that was coming. Maybe he could convince Dom to do the dishes.

“Anything in particular?” Eames asked, his voice low as he stepped closer to Arthur.

“Mr Eames,” Theo called, squeezing his way between them.

“We’re not at school right now, it’s just Eames. Okay, buddy?” Eames asked, patient as he always seemed to be when he was dealing with children.

“Okay. Come with me, Mr Eames,” he said, taking Eames’ hand and leading him off to the living room.

Arthur watched, half happy and half annoyed that he’d been cockblocked by his five year old nephew. There wasn’t enough time to dwell on the missed opportunity because there’s another knock on the door that is quickly followed by Dom and Mal leading their children in.

The noise that comes with them was almost overwhelming and Arthur was already thinking about seeking solitude in his bedroom.

Arthur noticed Eames perking up, accepting Phillipa and James into the arts corner he’d created in the living room. Theo had demanded to make hand turkeys and Eames had willingly accepted it, even going as far as making his own. It was unfair that Eames was that adorable and Arthur wasn’t even allowed to watch him.

“Ça-va, Arthur?” Mal asked as she kissed his cheek, dragging his gaze from Eames somehow tickling all three children at once.

“J'ai été mieux,” he answered truthfully. There was no way he was going to be able to hide how he was missing his twin so he figured he might as well be honest from the start. He had certainly been better but now that more people were arriving, there was at least the satisfaction of a distraction from his inner turmoil.

“What can I do?”

Arthur glanced at the mess around him, shrugging. “I think it’s basically done.” He’d gotten one of those already done turkeys, the rolls and the casserole were in the oven, the cranberry sauce was in a bowl, there was gravy… “Oh,” he said, jumping to grab the pot of potatoes from where they were still boiling on the stovetop. “Son of a b—”

“Arthur said a bad word,” Theo called out, his voice ringing out louder than the parade on TV.

“Did not,” Arthur countered, desperately hoping he hadn’t overcooked them. He wasn’t much of a chef, but he’d successfully managed to boil potatoes before. What was Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes?

“Need a hand, darling?” Eames asked, suddenly next to Arthur.

“Please.”

“Out you pop,” Eames said as he nudged Arthur out of the way, shooing him off as Mal handed him a glass of red wine.

Arthur sank into the sofa, resting his head against the back and gazing at Eames as he effortlessly moved around Arthur’s kitchen. Eames hadn’t been inside the apartment before, but he somehow found everything without having to ask. Though, after catching a glimpse of messy curls, Arthur figured it was because Theo was grabbing whatever Eames asked for.

“This is him?” Mal asked, interrupting Arthur’s watching.

“Him?”

She nodded towards the kitchen, taking a sip of her wine with an annoyingly knowing smirk on her face.

After the date, Arthur had needed some advice on how to proceed and Mal had been the only person he’d thought to turn to. There was no way he could go to Dom about these kind of problems and Ariadne was still floating on cloud nine with her brand new relationship. Arthur wanted to float as well, wanted to bask in the newness of something surreal, but he couldn’t. He had to think of Theo and Mal had kids, so Arthur figured her opinion would be invaluable. Instead, she’d just smiled and made fun of him being a teenager with a crush again.

“Obviously,” Arthur replied, not wanting to get into anything more while Eames was within hearing distance. It was already hard enough having all of them in the same place at once, especially when it was Eames’ first time in the apartment and all Arthur wanted to do was curl up with him and pretend that Thanksgiving wasn’t _actually_ happening.

“Pretty,” Mal hummed.

Arthur was saved from having to respond by Ariadne and Yusuf entering. He was grateful for the distraction and jumped from the sofa, leaving his wine on the coffee table. “Hey,” Arthur said, taking the dish Ari was holding from her hands. “I thought I said I’d have everything sorted.”

“It’s just pumpkin pie,” she replied, waving a hand and breezing past him to scoop Theo up in a hug.

Arthur leaned back against the door, looking over the chaos in his apartment. Dom and his kids were watching the parade, James running between the TV and Dom; Eames and Theo cooking up a storm in the kitchen; Ariadne and Yusuf sitting at the kitchen counter watching; Mal sitting on the edge of the sofa, smiling at her kids.

It was perfect.

It was _too_ perfect.

How was he still celebrating Thanksgiving? _Why_ was he still celebrating?

Arthur placed the dish on the counter next to Ari and tried not to rush into his bedroom. Emotions swirled inside him, conflicting feelings of guilt and longing. He knew Lizzie would want him to continue celebrating and enjoying himself, making new memories with a family of his own choosing. But he couldn’t stop the remorse from eating him up. There had never been a Thanksgiving without Lizzie. He shouldn’t have been doing anything without her.

“Everything okay?”

“Fine,” Arthur choked out, his eyes stinging as he attempted to crush everything he was feeling.

“It’s alright to miss her.”

Arthur swallowed hard, clenching his fists in a rhythmic attempt to calm himself.

“Arthur—”

“I’m fine,” Arthur bit out, turning on Eames who was much closer than Arthur had anticipated. He wanted to feel angry that Eames had followed him but his chest ached, silently pleased that _someone_ had noticed something was wrong.

“You do realise that it’s perfectly alright to feel like you’re doing something wrong, right?” Eames asked, reaching out to gently hold Arthur by the shoulders. The solidity of his touch grounding Arthur more than the words were.

“But it is wrong,” he whispered.

“No, it’s not.”

Arthur sighed and pressed his hands to his eyes.

“I didn’t know her, but I’m fairly certain your sister wouldn’t want you hiding away in your bedroom.”

Arthur could tell from the tone of his voice that Eames was smiling at him and, while Arthur didn’t feel perfect, it certainly helped a little. He still felt ridiculously guilty for even thinking of having fun when his sister was never going to enjoy her favourite holiday ever again.

“Come on, the potatoes are all ready and I’ve been reliably informed that your casserole looks exactly as it should.”

Arthur dropped his hands, looking at Eames and barely resisting the urge to cry.

“Theo’s very excited,” Eames murmured, gently rubbing circles into Arthur’s shoulders.

“Right,” Arthur nodded and took a deep, steadying breath, flashing a small smile at Eames. “How do I look?”

“Divine,” Eames replied, pressing a small kiss to his lips. “Let’s go stuff our faces.”

 

Arthur had been kicked out of the kitchen. Eames had insisted that Arthur didn’t have to clean and, after everyone else had left, Eames had set Arthur on the sofa with a fresh glass of wine while he went and started cleaning up.

Arthur felt a little guilty about not helping, but when Theo came over and snuggled up for a nap, Arthur couldn’t bring himself to mind. It was actually the perfect end to the day.

The football had been interesting enough to watch and Arthur hadn’t been entirely distracted by Eames’ thighs. The company had been good, though he could have done without Yusuf’s cracks about wide receivers and how great they are at going deep. The obvious innuendos were hard to ignore but thankfully, Theo’s ignorance made it easier to pretend they were about something else entirely.

“Arthur,” Eames whispered, crouching in front of the sofa.

“Did I doze off?”

Eames nodded with a smile. “You didn’t even drool, I’m impressed.”

“Shut up,” Arthur muttered but was cut off from saying anything else by Eames kissing him. It was awkward with a kid on his chest, but Arthur did his best to return the kiss to the best of his ability. He wished they had more time to indulge in lazy kisses, time without a child in the way. “Do you wanna stay?” Arthur asked, reaching out to grab Eames’ hand.

“Best if I don’t,” Eames replied with a rueful smile. “You’ve got your hands full as it is.” He nodded down at Theo who was pressed against Arthur, his breath hot and clammy against Arthur’s neck. “Call me later?”

Arthur nodded and gave Eames’ hand a squeeze, watching him leave as much as the sofa allowed him to.

“Arthur,” Theo mumbled sleepily, wriggling and digging an elbow into Arthur’s ribs.

“Let’s get you into bed, hey?” Arthur said and held Theo close as he maneuvered them both off the couch and to the bedroom.

Arthur settled on his own bed, climbing in next to Theo and wrapping his arms around the kid. Despite the few pitfalls throughout the day, it had been one of the best Thanksgivings he’d had. He drifted off into a Thanksgiving food coma, dreaming of Eames’ soft lips pressing against his own.


End file.
